Democrats do expect Obama to win, but only by a 58% to 33% percent margin. Republicans, by a margin of 83% to 13%, expect their presidential nominee to win. And Independents, by a 54% to 36 margin expect the Republican nominee to win.

The poll was conducted September 29-October 2, 2011and has a margin of error of 4 percent.

In his response Obama called himself the “underdog” and admitted Americans are “not better off” than they were four years ago. Watch the video:

ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos: “There are so many people who simply don’t think they are better off than they were four years ago. How do you convince them that they are?”

President Barack Obama: “Well I don’t think they are better off than they were four years ago. They’re not better off than they were before Lehman’s collapse, before the financial crisis, before this extraordinary recession that we’re going through.”

Obama’s admission will remind everyone of the famous, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” question posed by Ronald Reagan at the end of his debate with Jimmy Carter on October 28, 1980. And that will only reinforce the belief that Obama will be a one-term president.